“It’s possible. I asked how she knew you two times—and she never answered.”
“Because she doesn’t know me.”
“Yeah…” Thorn’s voice trailed away as he stared into the distance. Judging by the way he pulled himself away from me, something was bothering him. He hadn’t said everything he needed to say.
“What is it, Thorn?”
“I’m probably just being paranoid…”
“Tell me.” Diesel was bound to finish his shower any minute. It didn’t take him long to dry off because he didn’t need a hair dryer and he usually shaved in the morning.
“Well…she had brown hair, she was thin, had green eyes and…she looked just like you.”
“Looked like me?”
“Her cheekbones go high the way yours do. Her eyes are shaped the same way. And her figure…she has long legs like you do. Like I said, I’m probably just being paranoid and drawing conclusions over stupid things, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice it.”
“Thorn, what are you implying?” I wanted him to be perfectly direct because I was getting specific ideas in my head.
“Maybe she’s your mom…” Thorn turned back to me, his gaze taking in my features like a sponge soaking up water. “I realize it’s a little ridiculous, but unless your mom lives under a rock, there’s no way she doesn’t know you’re Tatum Titan, you know? You never changed your name. No matter what her reasons were for giving you up, she would have made the connection.”
I never felt incomplete not having a mother in my life. My father did well enough, and he gave me plenty of love to make up for a missing parent. Sometimes my mind would wander and I imagined what she looked like, but my thoughts didn’t continue that way for long. She didn’t want me in her life, so I didn’t think about her at all.
Thorn kept staring at me. “Titan?”
“I’m thinking.”
“I know your features like the back of my hand because you’ve been in my life for so long. She reminded me of you the second she walked in the door, even before she said anything. It could just be a coincidence…but I thought it was strange.”
“It probably is just a coincidence.”
Thorn turned quiet, his palms coming together again. “Are you going to mention this to Diesel?”
“I don’t know…”
“The woman didn’t seem like a threat. Like I said, she just seemed concerned.”
“What was her name again?”
“Bridget Creed,” he answered. “I did some research but didn’t find much. She’s been married for the last ten years to a software developer. He does pretty well, but they aren’t rich by our standards. She has two sons with him. I couldn’t trace her life further back than that. At least, I didn’t have time. This just happened like an hour ago.”
If she really was my mother, all I had to do was hire someone to trace her past. Her name would be in the hospital records from when she gave birth to me. There would be a marriage license. Unless she changed her name before she got married, it would be all the evidence I needed.
“Are you going to dig?”
I knew getting my answer wouldn’t change anything. Whether she was my mother or not, it didn’t change the past. It didn’t change the future either. She’d made her choice, and I respected that decision. But that didn’t mean I was required to care about her. “No.”
“Really?”
“Even if she is my mother, it wouldn’t change anything.”
“I guess…maybe you should talk to Diesel about it.”
“I’ll think about it…”
Thorn stared at me, obviously distressed about our conversation. “Should I not have said anything?”
“No.” I grabbed his arm and gave him a gentle squeeze. “You did the right thing. Thank you.”
“I felt like I should. I would want to know.”
Thorn would never know what he would want. He was born into a loving family with parents who adored him. He’d always been complete that way, and that was perfectly fine. But he never knew what it was like to be the child of a single parent. Things were more difficult, like money and stability. I would never insult my father’s memory by saying his care wasn’t good enough. It certainly was. I wouldn’t be the strong woman I was now without him.
Diesel came out of the bedroom in just his black sweatpants. His torso was wide and thick with muscle, and his tanned skin was kissed with grooves where the slabs of muscles were separated. He was built like a soldier, the definition of a strong man. I was lucky I got to see him walk around my house like that every single day. “What’s up, Thorn?”
“Hey, man.” Thorn immediately rose to his feet, knowing he’d just dropped a heavy conversation on me. “I just stopped by to check on Titan.”
Diesel walked up to him and shook his hand.
Thorn did the same, always treating Diesel with respect now that he’d been vindicated.
“She’s getting stronger every day,” Diesel said. “I’m excited to have her back to normal. She’s kinda like a glass vase right now. I’m worried I might shatter her.”
I rolled my eyes as I stood up. “I’m not a vase.”
There were a few drops still on his chest, spots he’d missed. They got buried in the cracks of his muscular frame. “What’s going on with Ms. Alexander? Is that still happening?”
Thorn and I hadn’t even talked about it.
Thorn smoothed it over without making it obvious that we forgot to even mention it. “Are you free tomorrow?”
“Thorn, I’m free every day,” I snapped.
Diesel’s eyes narrowed. “I was under the impression Thorn was handling all of this?”
I knew he was about to unleash his fire all over me. “He is. But I need to meet the woman before I consider a partnership with her. It would be ridiculous not to.”
“I agree,” Diesel said. “But we agreed you wouldn’t be working right now.”
“It’s not really working,”
